Microsoft to push IE7 out via WSUS next month

Microsoft warned that it will push a new version of Internet Explorer 7 via Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) in February. Specifically, administrators who have set WSUS to automatically approve Update Rollups will need to disable the auto-approval rule before Feb. 12 to stop IE7 from being updated into their infrastructure.

As of last year, Microsoft removed the requirement of Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) validation from an Internet Explorer 7 installation, making it available to all Windows XP users. Microsoft explained that the move was prompted by security concerns.

Excerpt from InfoWorld:

“Because Microsoft takes its commitment to help protect the entire Windows ecosystem seriously, we’re updating the IE7 installation experience to make it available as broadly as possible to all Windows users,” said Steve Reynolds, an IE program manager, on a Microsoft company blog in early,” said Steve Reynolds, an IE program manager.

Web metrics gathered by Net Applications during December 2007 shows that IE6 accounted for 35 percent of the browsers that visited some 40,000 monitored sites.